NCJ Number
117704
Date Published
1988
Length
38 pages
Annotation
The Money Laundering Control Act of 1986 is part of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act and creates a Federal money laundering offense.
Abstract
The law criminalizes virtually any dealing with the proceeds of a wide range of specified unlawful activities when those dealings are aimed at furthering the same activities or at concealing or disguising the source, ownership, location, or nature of the proceeds. It also authorizes the forfeiture of assets earned by launderers and creates a Title 31 offense that prohibits the structuring of currency transactions to evade reporting requirements. In addition, it enhances the civil and criminal penalty provisions of Title 31 and amends the Right to Financial Privacy Act. The new offenses created by the law differ greatly from the Title 31 offenses that have been generally designated as money laundering. Thus, all prosecutors, including those experienced in the Title 31 area, should carefully evaluate the elements of the new offenses before using them. Footnotes and discussion of Department of Justice policy regarding prosecutions under the law.